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TalkTalk says hackers accessed fraction of data originally thought TalkTalk says hackers accessed fraction of data originally thought
(about 1 hour later)
Hackers who attacked the TalkTalk website accessed significantly less data than originally thought, the telecoms company has said. A second teenager has been arrested in relation to the alleged theft of data during a cyber-attack on the Telecoms giant Talk Talk.
TalkTalk has 4m customers whose bank details and personal information were feared at risk from the cyber-attack. The 16-year-old boy was arrested in Feltham, west London, Metropolitan police said on Friday. He was released on bail until a date yet to be confirmed.
But on Friday, the company said fewer than 21,000 unique bank account numbers and sort codes had been accessed and fewer than 1.2m customer email addresses, names and phone numbers. It also said fewer than 28,000 obscured credit and debit card details and fewer than 15,000 customer dates of birth had been accessed. His arrest followed that on Monday of a a 15-year-old boy in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act. He has also been bailed, until a date in November.
The 16-year-old’s Feltham home was searched during the arrest on Thursday, as was another residential property in Liverpool.
TalkTalk has 4m customers whose bank details and personal information were feared at risk from the attackon its website, which took place a week ago.
However, the company said on Friday that the data hacked was significantly less than originally suspected. It said fewer than 21,000 unique bank account numbers and sort codes had been accessed and fewer than 1.2m customer email addresses, names and phone numbers. Fewer than 28,000 obscured credit and debit card details and 15,000 customer dates of birth had been accessed.
Related: TalkTalk cyber-attack sparks calls for new regulatory powersRelated: TalkTalk cyber-attack sparks calls for new regulatory powers
TalkTalk’s chief executive, Dido Harding, said: “Today we can confirm that the scale of attack was much smaller than we originally suspected, but this does not take away from how seriously we take what has happened and our investigation is still on going. TalkTalk’s chief executive, Dido Harding, said: ““Given the potential size of this attack, we decided to be as open, honest and transparent as we could because we wanted to keep our customers informed and ensure they had the advice and support they need. Today, we can confirm that the scale of attack was much smaller than we originally suspected, but this does not take away from how seriously we take what has happened and our investigation is still ongoing.
“On behalf of everyone at TalkTalk, I would like to apologise to all our customers. We know that we need to work hard to earn back your trust and everyone here is committed to doing that.”“On behalf of everyone at TalkTalk, I would like to apologise to all our customers. We know that we need to work hard to earn back your trust and everyone here is committed to doing that.”
Earlier on Friday, the police said a 16-year-old boy had been arrested in west London on Thursday in relation to the alleged data theft. The Met said the boy was released on bail. Officers searched his home in Feltham as well as a residential property in Liverpool.
The boy is the second person to be arrested in connection with the attack. On Monday, a 15-year-old boy was arrested in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act. He has also been bailed. TalkTalk has stressed the credit and debit card details cannot be used for financial transactions, as they have the middle six digits missing. The company said it had shared the affected account details with the major UK banks so they could take action to protect customers in the event of attempts to defraud them. The company described the prospects of such attempts as “highly unlikely”.
TalkTalk has stressed the credit and debit card details cannot be used for financial transactions. The company said it has shared the affected account details with the major UK banks so they can take action to protect customers in the event that a criminal attempts to defraud them. The company describes the prospects of such attempts as “highly unlikely”.
A spokesman said: “Even though the scale of the attack is significantly smaller than initially suspected, we continue to advise customers to be vigilant, and to take all precautions possible to protect themselves from scam phone calls and emails.”A spokesman said: “Even though the scale of the attack is significantly smaller than initially suspected, we continue to advise customers to be vigilant, and to take all precautions possible to protect themselves from scam phone calls and emails.”
The cyber-attack, which took place a week ago, is the third to hit TalkTalk in the last eight months, with incidents in August and February also resulting in customers’ data being hacked. The company said it would not call or otherwise contact customers regarding this incident, requesting bank details or other financial or personal information.
The cyber-attack is the third to hit TalkTalk in the past eight months, with incidents in August and February also resulting in customers’ data being hacked.
Security experts have claimed the telecoms firm let down customers with its slow and poor reaction and failure to encrypt and secure data. However, Harding insisted that the company’s cybersecurity was “head and shoulders” better than its competitors, while conceding that it would be “naive” to rule out the prospect of Talk Talk suffering a similar attack in the future.
The Met’s cybercrime unit and officers from the National Crime Agency are investigating the latest breach.The Met’s cybercrime unit and officers from the National Crime Agency are investigating the latest breach.